


A Familiar Face

by supportsapphic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Confrontations, Family Drama, Slice of Life, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 09:59:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15140654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supportsapphic/pseuds/supportsapphic
Summary: Getting over the death of her mother was the hardest thing Fareeha had to face. Even after all these years, she still finds her heart aching for the family she used to have. When faced with the reality that the entirety of it was a lie- that her mother was alive and well (albeit the eye injuring and emotional damage), Fareeha struggles with a mixture of resentment, frustration and weariness all at the same time. Luckily enough, she has more than enough family members around her to help fight that sudden feeling of betrayal.





	A Familiar Face

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for therocketqueenzine on Tumblr! I hope you guys enjoy it!

With her eyebrows furrowed together and her lips pursed, Fareeha Amari followed behind Jesse McCree as they retreated deeper and deeper into the long abandoned Gibraltar facility. When Jesse insisted that she get on the closest flight and rush to the Overwatch shelter she once called home, she couldn’t help but feel an uneasy amount of dread and concern. She had heard the base may be the new ‘ground zero’ for the Overwatch Recall but it just felt so wrong. It felt like she was disrespecting the place and stirring up old memories and dreams that should have just been swallowed down and forgotten. 

McCree stopped at the farthest room. Despite the rotting door frame and the rusted over nameplate, she immediately recognized the room as the former Jack Morrison's office. Fareeha spent a lot of time running up and down the halls as a kid while her mother worked hard. At the end of her days of adventure and pretend, she would run down this hallway to remind Jack that he needed to take a break and eat his dinner. He always acted annoyed but every time she reminded him, Jack would grumble and head towards the dining hall behind her. Fareeha’s heart began to hurt as the memories resurfaced. 

“Now Fareeha,” McCree suddenly spoke up. He turned so he could face her and held his hands up in defense, “I gotta warn you. I just found out about what’s goin’ on here. You know that I’m here for you and if I had known I woulda’ told you sooner.” 

She looked between her old friend and the door, a scowl making its way onto her face. “Jesse, you know I don’t like surprises….”

“Believe me, if I coulda’ done this any other way, I would.” McCree dropped his dying cigar onto the floor and effortlessly used the heel of his boot to stomp out the weak flame. “We’re gonna need a drink or two after this.” 

She couldn’t wait any longer. Fareeha pushed past McCree and heaved the heavy metal doors open. The hinges groaned in a weak protest as she pushed them all the way open, and she couldn’t help but feel akin to it- like some worned down clog in the system, ready to call it a day and head home. As soon as Fareeha looking up at the room, though she knew immediately that it was too late to leave. All eyes were on her. Fareeha did a quick count of the room, painfully swallowing down any doubts she had. As rumors said, Winston and Tracer were here after all. 

Fareeha froze when she noticed the final figure. The woman stood from the desk and pulled down the tan and black hood that covered her face when Fareeha first came in. Nausea waved through Fareeha when she noticed the woman’s tattoo. She thought she would never see the Eye of Horus again. Despite the years of aging and stress, it was clear who it was. Fareeha’s blood ran cold and she tore her eyes from her, rushing to get some answer from anybody. 

“L-Lena? Winston? What is this?” Fareeha’s voice betrayed her as it cracked with anxiety and heartache. 

How was it that her mother was standing here? How was it that she was alive? Harsh memories of putting up a headstone with no body assaulted the forefront of her mind. She relived the aching pain that she felt when standing in front of her family with a Qur’an in her hands as she struggled to read out a passage in her mother’s honor. She spent years crying herself to sleep, wondering what the hell happened to her mother and if she was tortured for days on end by Talon as the former Amélie had. 

“Fareeha,” Ana finally spoke up as she carefully walked around the desk as if any movement would spook her daughter away, “I’m sorry we couldn’t have this moment sooner.”

“You’re sorry?” The words felt bitter and heavy in Fareeha’s mouth,“I-I thought you were dead! Dad and I struggled for years, the grief weighed me down every single day. And you were alive? This entire time?”

“What I did was inexcusable. I was overcome with guilt for all the suffering I had caused- I regretted joining Overwatch and my part in the war. I let myself suffocate in it and I… I wasn’t ready to come back and face the people who needed me most. I hope one day that you will never have to face the self-reproach that stuck with me and tore my life in two.” 

Fareeha’s hands shook with nerves and it felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. It really was her mom. The last time she had heard this voice, her mother had read her one final bedtime story before leaving for that final fateful mission. It reminded her too much of all the times she would barricade herself in her room with old family videos, desperately watching them time and time again in hopes of feeling the remnants of her mother’s love for their family. 

But now? It was like listening to a ghost- some far off lie that was all too cruel. Ana’s apparent death had swayed her life and held a heavy influence over every single decision she ever made, and yet it was all for nothing? The reason she kept on fighting was all a sham? Instead of coming back sooner rather than later, Ana chose to lurk from the shadows and watch from afar, and for what? To pop up a decade later and pretend as if they could reconnect and everything would be fine?

“So instead of coming back to your family, you decided to hide away because of self pity?” Fareeha fought through the tears beginning to sting her eyes.

“We needed you, I needed you! And instead of throwing in the rag and coming home so we could help you, you decided to stay hidden in the shadows and leave us to fend for ourselves! We could have saved you- helped you with rehabilitation! We both needed each other, why would you deny us of that?” Fareeha pushed on, ignoring the stiff silence that had settled over the room.

Fareeha couldn’t help but sniffle and rub angrily at her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the tears. She looked to Jesse for support- for him to jump up and agree with her, but all he did was lower his head and press take off his hat. Frustration coursed through the youngest Amari and she couldn’t help but shake her head and back towards the door.

“I-I can’t do this. I have to go…” Without waiting, she turned on her heels and hurried out the door. At least they hadn’t tried to stop her from leaving.

She had loved her mother from the bottom of her heart. Fareeha spent her entire life looking up and admiring the older woman, wishing one day she could reach the same heights of success as Ana had. Yet here they were now, that dream in shambles and Fareeha’s image of what her mother was being crushed by the second.

Fareeha hurried down the hall, using the abundance of memories she had in the Watchpoint to guide her through the rotting and decaying halls of that once stood. As she hurried, she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away at the bitter tears that began to fall. It wasn’t until her phone began to ring that she finally stopped trying to lose herself in the halls. A quick look at the caller ID assured her that it was safe to answer. 

“Fareeha,” the familiar voice of Reinhardt started as soon as she answered, “you don’t have to talk. Not yet. Just know that we are here for you and we love you. You are one of our own and we would do anything to make sure you are okay. Your mother has… made mistakes, but everything she did was to help protect and give you a better life. You don’t have to forgive her, but know we are here to help you through it all.”

“Thank you Reinhardt, I really do appreciate it. I-I just need time. I’ll return back to the others, after I’ve gathered my thoughts.” Her voice cracked and instantly Fareeha was hit with a bang of guilt and anger at herself for being such a child. She was supposed to be the strongest Amari alive- defending those she loved without a second thought. Yet here she was crying over something she was supposed to be over long ago. 

When the phone call ended, Fareeha finally stopped her frantic pacing down the halls. She quickly lowered herself to the ground, her back pressed firmly against the chipped walls of the retired Watchpoint and as she tried to ease her anxious breathing.

At least at the end of this all, she wasn’t alone and had loved ones there to help her through the recovery and reconnection. She’d just have to take one step at a time and after all, they were all in this together.


End file.
